It’s the dead of winter, but this is the perfect time to set the foundation for a stellar year. These are six things every aesthetic practice needs to do in January.
- Consult your Pros: Talk with your accountant, marketing consultant, HR professional and anyone else you normally work with. Ask them about their top priorities for your business. If you find there’s some overlap between them, look for ways to make your efforts do double duty. Remember, W2s and 1099s are due this month and employment posters may need to be updated.
- Contracts: Review your current contracts with a critical eye. Are they still working for you? Do you still understand what they mean and how they impact your aesthetic practice? If there’s something you don’t understand, get clarification now.
- Website: Look at your website from three perspectives in addition to your own – your customers, your potential customers, and your competitors’ perspectives. Does your website give everyone the information they need and put your competitors on notice? It should.
- Strategic Plan: Create or review your strategic plan for the year. What are your BHAGs (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals)? How will you make 2020 a very distant memory? Aim high and outline the path that will get you there, including short and long-term goals. This exercise can be both thrilling and daunting. Ensure you have the right people around you to celebrate with you and support you. Draw from those conversations with your trusted professionals. Bring in your team and listen. Not only are two heads better than one, people are more likely to buy into a strategy they helped create.
- Budget: Review and update your budget. Things change and last year’s budget may no longer make sense. Ask yourself where your budget is taking you. Is it helping you achieve your aesthetic practices’ business and financial goals? What does your budget say your priorities are?
- Self Care: Create a plan for how to ensure you’ll be up for any challenge this year. Beyond COVID19, there will be other things to address. What has worked for you before? Keep that and add at least one new thing you’d like to try. If you put that all on one page, how does it make you feel? Ready or doubtful? Revise accordingly now and as you go along.
If you collaborate with trusted partners and do your homework now, chances are better that 2021 will take you where you want to go.